Thursday, August 1, 2019

DIA Withheld AAWSAP Contract Awarded to BAASS in 2011 FOIA Response

An FOIA request filed in 2009 did not obtain significant details that sought documents pertaining to a 2008 Defense Intelligence Agency Advanced Aerospace Weapons System Application Program contract, according to a more recent DIA FOIA response. However, enough information was released to further clarify the contract was awarded to Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies. The recent DIA response also established that such projects awarded to private contractors are not outside the scope of the FOIA as has been incorrectly suggested on numerous occasions about Pentagon UFO programs.A DIA response to the 2009 request obtained by The UFO Trail via a much more recent FOIA request indicates all substantive portions of a ten-page document were withheld in full. Reasons cited for withholding the information included standard exemptions the DIA cited as protecting "the identity of DIA employees and organizational structure of the agency," as well as an exemption applying to "trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person on a privileged or confidential basis."

Researcher Keith Basterfield identified the decade-old FOIA request in a May 17, 2018 blog post. He found it while searching the 2010 DIA FOIA log. The request was submitted by Quincy Wilkins, pertaining to a contract number Basterfield knew to be related to the AAWSAP and strongly suspected to have been awarded to Bigelow. An FOIA request was subsequently filed seeking copies of the DIA response and all materials issued to Wilkins. In a letter dated July 19, 2019, the DIA replied that some responsive documents would be withheld in part and some would be withheld in full. Enough information was released to further confirm the contract was awarded to BAASS, while indicating all substantive parts were initially withheld from Wilkins.A portion of the 2019 DIA response to the request for all materials issued in response to the 2009 FOIA request:

From the partially withheld DIA response, apparently to Wilkins, for information concerning the AAWSAP contract number in question:

Below is a letter issued from DIA to BAASS, informing BAASS an FOIA request was received pertaining to its contract award. The letter was an effort to coordinate proper classification of the contract, and was apparently reviewed for release in 2011.

Researchers continue to await responses to multiple pending FOIA requests pertaining to the AAWSAP, the Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program and related material.

"Here’s how I see it: Empathy is the ability to respect and maybe even understand another’s point of view, revealing larger truths about ourselves and others. Exploitation is the use of another’s experience for personal gain. Empathy requires self-awareness. Exploitation is marked by self-interest. Empathy is about deepening connections. Exploitation, about filling one’s pockets, literal or figurative."